Category Archives: Incentives

The ATPI Group has announced the launch of its new generation fully mobile-responsive platform called ATPI TravelHub. The platform will give travel managers and bookers access to relevant travel tools, technology and data, cutting out the need to log into multiple applications. ATPI TravelHub offers a single sign-on for all travel tools and technology throughout the booking and planning process, from making requests right the way through to travel analysis. It not only integrates with a clients’ own system, but also has universal profile management across all of the ATPI Group’s products – and its preferred partners – to improve policy compliance and duty of care. Ali Hussain, Head of Technology, the ATPI Group, said, “ATPI TravelHub will soon evolve with new developments to enhance its personalisation further and provide customisable options. The tool has been specifically designed with a new generation of travel professionals in mind and facilitates greater control, convenience, choice, savings, safety and transparency. ATPI TravelHub offers a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate solution to improve efficiency at every stage of the travel management programme.”

Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) celebrated its 10th edition conclave from September 8-10, in Hotel Pullman, Aerocity, New Delhi. Themed ‘a decade of transformation’, it was a part of the EEMAX Global Conclave and Awards organised by EEMA. Sabbas Joseph, President, EEMA, elucidated on the event and said, “It was an event that got everyone together. Sharing the journey with nostalgia were the three presidents of EEMA. We had around 283 registered members and an attendance of about 350 people.” Adding on about growing number of talent in the country, he said, “We have a programme for youth empowerment and education and talent development, the first launch of it was on September 8, at the EEMA Eduposium. We are now looking at management programmes, how can we embellish that with content from the event management companies and create event management as an option. It is something that we believe in, along with the vision of the Prime Minister of India. If we can help, skill development, and retain talent, we will become great employers to showcase the real talent in the country.”

A report on future trends in the meetings and events space by the CWT Meetings & Events (CWT M&E), a division of global travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel, revealed that the overall cost per attendee per day for meetings and events around the globe increased in 2017 and is expected to continue rising next year. Titled as 2018 Meetings and Events Future Trend, the report also looks into regional differences and cost projections, as well as the latest industry trends and top destinations. According to the report, the cost per attendee per day for meetings and events in Asia Pacific has increased by 5 per cent in 2017, the greatest for any region globally. It stated that the prices are not changing much in Asia Pacific, for either hotels or air fares, with a surge of 3.5 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively. The top 10 destinations for meetings & events in Asia Pacific in 2017 as in the report are as follows: 1. Singapore 2. Sydney, Australia 3. Bangkok, Thailand 4. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 5. Hong Kong 6. Shanghai, China 7. Melbourne, Australia 8. Tokyo, Japan 9. Mumbai, India 10. Seoul, South Korea

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) unveiled the country’s unified brand, ‘Passion Made Possible’, to the Indian audiences. STB and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) have come together to develop this brand to market Singapore internationally for tourism and business purposes. The brand aims to communicate the country’s value proposition in addressing the needs of travellers and companies. GB Srithar, Regional Director – South Asia Middle East & Africa (SAMEA), STB, announced the official launch of the brand in India, “Singapore remains a highly popular travel destination among Indian travellers. We welcomed a record 1.1 million visitors from India in 2016. The unveiled brand will allow us to build a deeper and more personal connection between Singapore and India. It is in line with quality tourism as it will appeal to the more sophisticated tourists who are seeking more aspirational value propositions in their travel.” In the development of the unified brand, STB and EDB had embarked on qualitative and quantitative research with close to 4,500 respondents on what Singapore stands for, reaching out to residents, industry stakeholders, and international audiences in Singapore and across 10 countries, including India. Yuemin Li-Misra, Area Director, South Asia (New Delhi), said, “We havelined up a multi-faceted brand promotional campaign to reach out to audiences across India. This includes a comprehensive multi-modal media campaign, on-ground consumer and trade-facing events and roadshows, stories by influential Indian public figures experiencing Singapore with our local brand personalities, and collaborations with strategic trade partners to promote brand-related travel packages to Singapore.” Srithar added, “STB has been fortunate in having many travel agent and airline partners collaborating with us over the years to bring Singapore’s offerings and experiences to …

Myforexeye has launched a full service foreign exchange mobile application to simplify forex exchange for traders, business communities and individuals. The company has been working towards simplifying forex and is aiming at disrupting Rs 60,000 crore windfalls made by intermediaries in the name of information arbitrage. From outsourcing forex to transactions, trade finance to risk management, Transaction Process Outsourcing (TPO) to RateAudit and RateCheck, the app offers the widest features beyond the Currency exchange. The app is available on Android and other popular platforms. Speaking on the launch, Anand Tandon, Founder, Myforexeye Fintech, says, “We are confident that our Forex Exchange Mobile App will offer enhanced user experience, transparent market operations and complete audit trail for B2B and B2C segments in India. Through this platform, we are also connecting our clients to the best dealers. To ensure the data safety we are using the world class security technology.”

Dusit International, Thailand’s hotel and property development company, has opened a new Global Sales Office (GSO) in Mumbai, to promote Dusit Hotels & Resorts in India. The new office will manage sales across all market segments including leisure, MICE and corporate business. Primarily, the team will focus on Tier I cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru but will also cover smaller cities. Keshwar Bhagat, Director of Sales – GSO India, will head the India office. Lim Boon Kwee, Chief Operating Officer, Dusit International, says, “With the volume of outbound travel increasing by about 25 per cent a year, India is now one of the fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world. When you consider that the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has predicted the number of outbound Indian travellers will reach 50 million by 2020, now is the perfect time for us to open a GSO in the country. This comes in tandem with our own growth, which will see our current tally of 29 hotels and resorts top 80 worldwide within the next three-to-four years.”

Platinum Sponsor FCM Travel Solutions will present an Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology showcase and share their expertise as a panellist at this year’s 20th edition of the corporate travel management conference. CTW Asia-Pacific will be their launch pad in Southeast Asia to introduce Sam, their revolutionary chatbot powered by AI and a refreshed technology suite. Bertrand Saillet, General Manager, Asia of FCM Travel Solutions, on their participation at CTW Asia-Pacific, “CTW Asia-Pacific has always been an effective platform for us to network with key decision makers and drive deeper, meaningful conversations to understand their travel management challenges. We take away with us these learning and work on developing new product offerings to meet the needs of the travel managers and travellers. ” In an era where the line between business and leisure travel is blurring, FCM injects excitement into corporate travel by innovating and coming up with new solutions to meet the evolving expectations of the travellers. To this end, FCM will be sharing their insights on AI, how it’s being used in the different industries, especially travel, what it means to the traveller and what the future holds, ending off with a demonstration of their pocket chatbot, Sam. With its continuous investment in R&D and quest to improve their customer experience from end-to-end, FCM Travel Solutions is well positioned to meet the challenging demands of corporate travel across all industries. “We are always striving to introduce new technology that enhances the traveller experience and boost productivity and to achieve that, we constantly conduct small focus groups with our customers to test out ideas and concepts before they are actualised and launched in the market. This is to ensure that …

Enabling a platform to expand boundaries for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events industry was the eye opening conclave of ICPB’s 10th Convention India Conclave 2017, held in HICC, Hyderabad, from August 29-31, 2017. The conference saw a conglomeration of 350 prominent MICE industry leaders, PCO’s, Suppliers, Conference Planners, Buyers and Government officials from the Ministry to discuss the potential of MICE industry in India and way forward. The theme of the conclave was “Expanding The Boundaries – Mission Possible” with a focus on all segments of MICE Industry – incentive, exhibition and corporate meetings, creating an opportunity for the members to look for new avenues of business development. The inaugural session saw the esteemed presence of dignitaries including Chief Guest, Madhusudana Achary – Speaker, Telangana Legislative Assembly; Guest of Honour, B Venkateshan – Principal Secretary Tourism, Government of Telangana; Christina Z. Chongthu – Managing Director, Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation; Suman Billa – Chairman ICPB & Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Chander Mansharamani – Vice Chairman, ICPB; and Amresh Tiwari – Honorary Secretary, ICPB. During the inaugural address, Billa revealed how 52 per cent of travel revolves around MICE and the need to leverage this market and tap its potential internationally as well. He also mentioned about the implementation of a corpus fund, created half by the government and the remaining half by ICPB, to help open the Indian conference market to the world. The conclave showcased an expo for more than 200 registered buyers and sellers to interact and exchange business. B2B meetings and sessions on topics of sustainability and associations to help member engagements were also held. During the press conference, Billa talked about setting …

Seoul MICE Alliance is operated by Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization to foster Seoul’s MICE industry and co-marketing. Since its first selection of 47 members in 2010, it has continued to grow, and this year, it expanded to 260 members through the selection of 38 new members. This is a 453 per cent increase in seven years. It can be said that Seoul’s competitiveness became that much stronger in attracting business events. The new members will collaborate with the Seoul Tourism Organization in bidding, attracting and hosting international MICE events, collaborate on PR activities such as overseas media/buyer familiarization tours, overseas MICE joint advertising for magazines, online marketing and newsletter distribution to boost Seoul’s MICE competitiveness. Moreover, the official events such as SMA member meetings, business conferences and SMA annual meetings will be held to promote networking among members.

Dubai Parks and Resorts, Middle East’s largest theme park destination, has announced its new season line-up featuring the premiere of the Lionsgate zone at MOTIONGATE™ Dubai and a series of exciting events on the river at Riverland™ Dubai. The Lionsgate zone at MOTIONGATE™ Dubai features the world’s first rides and attractions inspired by the international blockbuster movie series ‘The Hunger Games’.Riverland™ Dubai, the themed dining, retail and entertainment district at the centre of Dubai Parks and Resorts has also announced its season line up of free events including Circus on the River in November and Pets on the River in December and a host of new events during public holidays. Effective from September 1, 2017, international visitors ticket prices have also been announced for the winter season, with day tickets ranging from AED 235 /Rs 4,100 per park or AED 285/ Rs 4,980 for two parks. The seasonal tickets will give the guests the opportunity to experience over 100 rides and attractions at the destination. Ticket prices are the same for adults and children, with kids below the age of 3 entering free. David Loiseau, Vice President of Sales & Distribution, said: “This is Dubai Parks and Resorts first full winter season and our focus is on delivering new experiences and competitive prices to bring visitors back time and again. This season, The Hunger Games fans from across the globe will be able to experience rides inspired by the blockbuster movie franchise that have never been seen anywhere in the world before. We are joining communities across the UAE to celebrate national holidays with free events along the river at Riverland™ Dubai. We have also created our very own special …